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mild, a degree or so of frost only being registered in the winter 
months, and, on the whole, I should say that the climate is very 
similar to that of the south-west coast of Ireland. The islands 
are of volcanic origin ; Chatham Island itself is made up of two 
large masses of land joined together by a uarrow isthmus 
composed of limestone. Blown sand forms an important physical 
feature of the island and, to some extent, has caused in it also the 
formation of a huge inland lagoon some 40,000 acres in extent, by 
cutting off a large area of shallow sea. Close to this lagoon there 
is a large freshwater lake, Lake Huro, which drains the country 
bordering the great lagoon to the south, and has a swampy outlet 
to the south into the Weitangei river, and there are several 
other freshwater lakes. The south end of the island contains 
the larger mass of land and rises to nearly a thousand feet 
above sea-level in a succession of peaty, boggy undulations ; the 
higher one ascends the worse the bogs become. The slopes 
adjacent to the sea-coast, therefore, are the only parts under 
pasturage, and what there is of it is excellent, and probably as 
fertile as that in any part of New Zealand itself. 
‘But to return to the day of my arrival in the island ; being 
more or less wet through after my ride to Mr, Cox’s house, and as 
it was still pouring with rain, I took the opportunity to visit the 
swamp on the shore of Lake Huro, which is adjacent to the house. 
In the wettest part I found only various forms of swamp plants 
such as Leptocarpus simplex and Carex appressa var. sectoides, with 
here and there Phormium tenax ; but as soon as the swamp became - 
the least bit drier one came upon the lowland forest, first Coprosma 
propinqua, then Suttonia Coxit, with more flax, and Arundo conspicua, 
while further in one found plenty of Olearia Traversii, Pseudopanax 
chathamicum, Coprosma chathamica and Suttonia chathamica; Dra- 
Hi bo arboreum also occurs, and a very fine Astelia, which 
, in full flower, and Senecio 
. he commonest trees about this 
part were Corynocarpus laevigata (the Karaka), Coprosma chatha- 
mica, Hymenanthera chathamica, Olearia Traversii, Corokia macro- 
carpa, Pseudopanax chathamicum and Suttonia chathamica. The 
